For enquires and bookings please do not hesitate to contact us by telephone

to discuss the availability of accommodation and to find out more about

Blackpark Croft,

Bridgend,

Isle of Islay,

Argyll,

Scotland,

PA44 7PL

 

Telephone

+44 (0)1496 810376

 

We very much

look forward

to hearing from you,

 

Angus and Isabel

McLugash

 

 

 

 

 

 

Registered ASSC

2010

Association of Scotland's

Self-Caterers

Quality Assurance Scheme

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Scottish Tourist Board’s Disabled Access Award Category 2

Blackpark Croft Holiday Cottages 2009-2010  www.islaycottagesblackpark.co.uk

Images and Web Design: Copyright © Teresa Morris www.islaywildscapes.co.uk

BLACKPARK CROFT NEWS

 

"Islay hospitality still softens return to reality"

 

I DON'T know about you, but it hurts to go back to work after time away, and this Easter has been no exception. After a week of life at Islay pace (for which, read considerably slower than normal) it was a shock to set my alarm for 4.45am and seriously depressing to drag my body out of bed to find it was still dark. The clocks had changed in my absence.

 

We hadn't worried too much about clocks on Islay – we woke when we woke, and we slept when we were tired, which was most of our first 48 hours there.

 

There wasn't much to do that required clock-watching – the 50,000 geese, who had been spending the winter at the RSPB reserve just round the corner, were there whenever we rolled up to look at them. And while the staff at the excellent Ardbeg cafe may have given us a strange look when we wandered in for a 4pm lunch, they were still delighted to serve us.

 

Islay was a new addition to our holiday repertoire. Faithful to our 2008 resolution "to holiday where no Marr has ever holidayed before", we turned our backs on last year's success in Orkney, and took a chance on Blackpark Croft.

 

The nice lady in the tourist office in Bowmore had recommended it, and owner Angus had sounded lovely on the phone, so off went the deposit cheque, and I booked the ferry.

 

We weren't going in completely blind — with Morag's list of "must do" things we had more to cram in than we could possibly achieve in a week. We'd heard of the miles of white sandy beaches, the abundant wildlife and were already acquainted with the island's excellent single malts, but nothing had prepared us for the friendliness of the Islay folk, or the impression that they all know each other.

 

It took us a couple of days to realise that, yes; everyone on the island does wave when they pass in their cars. In every cafe, pub, shop or visitor centre, we were asked if Angus's cow had calved yet (a healthy baby girl, but she needed bottle-fed), and on a final trip to the local pub, we were greeted with the news that an old friend had been in asking for us.

 

But even now that we're home, the Islay hospitality continues, in a way that has softened the blow of the return to work. Yesterday, a parcel arrived – a bottle of malt.

 

We'd taken the distillery tour at Bunnahabhain and met David, a self-confessed whisky nut, who was spending a week volunteering at the distillery, giving tours, helping fill casks and making deliveries. He does this a few times a year, apparently, escaping from his real job selling the stuff from his shop in Staffordshire.

We'd met up again on the ferry home, and he'd tracked me down via the MFR website.

 

All he will tell me about his own label, "Queen of the Moorlands Whisky", is that it's a 12-year-old Speyside Single Malt from the Grantown area. All I need to know beyond that is that it is delicious, and reminds me of a holiday well spent. Highland hospitality – from Islay, to Inverness, via Staffordshire. That's my kind of holiday. And a great welcome home.

 

PS; The heifer calf mentioned in the article is growing up strong and well !

 

One of our visitor's enjoyed their stay at Blackpark Croft so much that they wrote this article:

 

Published: 15 April, 2008 in the Inverness Courier

 

18 May 2009  4lbs Wild Brown Trout caught at Loch Gorm Islay

 

Mr Stan Paterson from Dumbarton caught his best fish in a lifetime of fishing whilst staying at Blackpark Croft. Loch Gorm offers fantastic opportunities for fly fishing.

Catch of a lifetime for Mr Paterson !!!!!!!!!

Isabel enjoying the celebratory moment with Mr Paterson and successful catch of the day !!